Rhea Ripley may be stripped of the WWE Women’s Championship without ever losing it in the ring. Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer reported “rumblings” that WWE will vacate the title following Ripley’s knee surgery this week.
If that happens, Chelsea Green would be elevated from interim to full WWE Women’s Champion, and their planned unification match would be scrapped. More details are expected on SmackDown this Friday (8/7) in Philadelphia.
Ripley said on 8/6 that surgery wasn’t her first choice but became necessary after weeks of trying to recover from the meniscus injury.
“Life update. After just under 14 year in wrestling and doing sports my entire life… It’s caught up to me. Surgery was never a first option for me, but it got to the point that it was needed… First one down… Hopefully no more… I’ve survived, now it’s time to start thriving again so I can get back to what I love to do! See you all down the road.”
Ripley has been out of action since 6/3, when she worked a WWE live event in Lisbon, Portugal. Her last televised match was the 5/31 Clash in Italy defense, where she beat Jade Cargill to retain the WWE Women’s Championship.
WWE announced the knee injury on the 6/12 SmackDown. In July, Ripley revealed she had suffered a small meniscus tear and was still having trouble bending her knee, with no timetable for her return.
With Ripley sidelined, WWE put the interim title up for grabs in a Five-Woman Ladder Match at SummerSlam. Green won the ladder match, beating Charlotte Flair, Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton, and Lash Legend.